Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 4.0In West Penn Township, the kinds of crime the grade counts fell 77% per resident from 2023 to 2025
West Penn Township grades A for safety overall (#182 of 578 graded towns in Pennsylvania): less crime per resident than 85% of U.S. towns, on crimes its police reported from 2023 to 2025. Neither of the two towns next door with figures records less crime per resident. The local count comes to 0.4 violent crime and 5.3 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people each year, with 2.9 and 17.5 in the rest of Pennsylvania.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of PA” is every other Pennsylvania city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in West Penn Township
West Penn Township reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 7 Pennsylvania towns on West Penn Township’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Tamaqua (B+), Mahoning Township (C). Walker Township, Lynn Township, East Penn Township, East Brunswick Township and Heidelberg Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025. Neighbors ↓
Among Pennsylvania towns, closer to the middle
Pennsylvania’s cities and towns report less crime than most states’, so West Penn Township’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 69% of the 578 Pennsylvania towns we grade, against 85% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind West Penn Township’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are lower than in most U.S. towns; violent crime is the stronger of the two.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | West Penn Township property | Rest of Pennsylvania property | West Penn Township violent | Rest of Pennsylvania violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 8.7 | 19.1 | 0.7 | 3.2 |
| 2024 | 5.3 | 17.4 | 0.4 | 2.9 |
| 2025 | 2.2 | 16.1 | 0.0 | 2.6 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2023–2025, against the rest of Pennsylvania.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | West Penn Township | Rest of Pennsylvania | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 0.7 | 3.2 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 0.4 | 2.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 0.0 | 2.6 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
West Penn Township’s police reported 5 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 0.4 per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.9 in the rest of Pennsylvania and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in West Penn Township per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
And no violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
10 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
0 violent and 10 property, as reported to the FBI by West Penn Township’s police.
Three people died in crashes on West Penn Township’s roads in 2019–2023
West Penn Township had 3 fatal crashes in five years, in which three people died.
That is about what is typical for Pennsylvania towns of 2,500–5,000 people: at their median rate (7.1 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of West Penn Township’s size would see about 2 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so West Penn Township’s own rate (13.5) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
West Penn Township and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Penn Township | A | 0.4 | 5.3 |
| Walker Township | — | — | — |
| Lynn Township | — | — | — |
| East Penn Township | — | — | — |
| East Brunswick Township | — | — | — |
| Mahoning Township | C | 1.1 | 22.1 |
| Tamaqua | B+ | 1.2 | 8.1 |
| Heidelberg Township | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Walker Township, Lynn Township, East Penn Township, East Brunswick Township and Heidelberg Township have no FBI figures of their own for 2023–2025.
Pennsylvania towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Penn Township | A | 0.4 | 5.3 |
| Montoursville | B | 0.5 | 12.4 |
| Granville Township | C+ | 0.6 | 19.7 |
| California | C | 4.0 | 10.4 |
| West Reading | C− | 4.3 | 19.5 |
| Arnold | D | 8.7 | 14.1 |
The five graded Pennsylvania towns closest to West Penn Township’s population (4,616), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of West Penn Township. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against West Penn Township’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (4,612 in 2025); our figure for West Penn Township is 4,616 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in West Penn Township
Is West Penn Township, PA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, West Penn Township reports less crime per resident than 85% of U.S. towns, an A Safety Grade and #182 of 578 in Pennsylvania. Its police reported 0.4 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 2.9 in the rest of Pennsylvania and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in West Penn Township?
0.4 violent and 5.3 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Pennsylvania reports 2.9 and 17.5; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is West Penn Township safer than Mahoning Township?
Mahoning Township reports more crime per resident than West Penn Township: Mahoning Township grades C for safety and West Penn Township A. Mahoning Township’s police reported 1.1 violent and 22.1 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices West Penn Township?
West Penn Township’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “West Penn Township”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Neighbors looking out for each other in West Penn Township.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.